BENEDICTO CABRERA

A National Artist for Visual Arts since his conferment in 2006, Ben Cabrera, or BenCab, is an icon in the Philippines. He was a pioneer in the 1970s for addressing social and political issues, and for his portrayal of Filipino identity. He is acclaimed for his draftsmanship in expressing universal human sympathies and everyday narrative drama.

In 2009, he established the BenCab Museum in his mountain home of Baguio, where he houses his personal collection of tribal art from the Cordillera highlands, as well as contemporary Philippine art.

An undergraduate of the University of the Philippines’ College of Fine Arts, BenCab was later conferred a doctorate in Humanities, honoris causa, by his alma mater in 2009. He was conferred a second honorary doctorate by the University of the Cordilleras in 2018.

A highlight of his artistic career was the yearlong celebration of BenCab 50 Creative Years in 2015, which involved retrospective exhibitions in eight museums and the publication of a 2-volume book BenCab FILIPINO ARTIST, authored by art historian Patrick Flores.

Courtesy Gajah Gallery